Check out these masterpieces…the winners of the World’s Best Presentation Contest

I am happy to share the results of the World’s Best Presentation Contest that recently concluded on SlideShare. The contest ran for a month and was judged by some of the superstars from the world of communications and presentations - Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds, Bert Decker and Jerry Weissman. The idea behind the contest was to shine a spotlight on well designed presentations and the winning entries that emerged are REAL GEMS. You can check Technorati for hundreds of blogs that have blogged the winning presentations and people are really moved by the top winners.

The First Prize was bagged by ‘Shift Happens’, a superb commentary on the emerging socio-economic position in US as a result of the flattening world. In fact there is a bit of history to how this presentation was created; if you are interested, read that story here. The person who created this presentation runs a professional presentation design company in the US.

The Second Prize was bagged by a freakingly brilliant presentation called ‘Meet Henry’. It demonstrates a very refreshing communication style. This has already inspired a bunch of wannabes– check out this, this & this. Meet Henry also comes from a professional presentation design company.

The Third Prize went to a thought provoking (and intense) presentation titled “‘Sustainable Food Lab’” about the world’s food shortage situation. This was created by a non-profit sector worker, who lives in the US.

As Guy Kawasaki remarked, something common amongst all three winning entries was big fonts, big graphics and a storytelling orientation. In fact, one is tempted to question whether these are powerpoints at all. They are almost like a completely new medium for mass communication.

Apart from the three top awards, there were some honorable mentions as well. Check them out …

Translation as vocation: a primer for newbies
I Am The Media
Flickr
Winner, PowerPoint Live Conference 2006, “5 Killer Slides”
The 25 Basic Styles of Blogging … And When To Use Each One
Unlocking Cool - By Jeremy Gutsche, TrendHunter.com

We are elated by the response to the contest. SlideShare has gained significantly in terms of traffic & attention. And its been a great experience working with the likes of Guy Kawasaki, Garr Reynolds etc. Stay tuned to more SlideShare contests in future.